In recent times, numerous electronic technologies including audio signal processing, video signal processing and data processing have become more available to individual users. With more advanced electronic technologies available to users, new and different needs for entertainment applications have arisen.
Two areas in which needs for improved entertainment applications exist are in generating multimedia presentations and telecommunications. Multimedia refers to the integration of text, audio, graphics, still image and moving pictures into a single, computer-controlled, multimedia product. It includes the combination of computers, video disk or compact disk players, video monitors, optical scanners, audio cards, music synthesizers, etc., all linked together by powerful developmental software. Telecommunications, on the other hand, includes applications for communicating by electronic transmission signals from devices such as telephones, radio, and television. A number of factors, however, have precluded the ability of system designers to develop systems which can fully utilize and integrate multimedia and telecommunications applications in a single workstation. These factors include public acceptance, excessive costs, system complexity, and incompatibilities among the various electronic technologies.
With all the various multimedia and telecommunications systems available to the user, there is no single system that provides easy access to multimedia and telecommunications applications. With known systems for multimedia applications, several independent multimedia systems must be connect together via electrical and electronic connections. Similarly, integrated telecommunications applications require numerous electrical and electronic connections with multiple systems. If many multimedia and telecommunications applications are to be integrated with known systems, the result often is a room with an array of cables and independent electrical and electronic connections. As a result, integrating multimedia applications systems with telecommunications systems using known system is both expensive and fraught with substantial limitations. For entertainment purposes, the need for multiple independent systems and various electrical and electronic connections and cables, makes multimedia and telecommunications application have limited accessibility.
Thus, there is the need for a system that in a single chassis or platform can effectively integrated multimedia and telecommunications applications for entertainment purposes.
There is the need for a system and method that permits combining computing technology with multimedia and telecommunications technologies for a wide variety of entertainment purposes.
Additionally, there is the need for an entertainment system that is easily controllable and that uses inexpensive computer technology for simple and effective control of multimedia and telecommunications applications.